Monday 21 January 2013

Remembering King George V

3 June 1865 - 21 January 1936


His Majesty George V, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India, passed away on 21 January 1936

For reasons I still don't fully understand, his reign has become important to me, and the focus of my collecting.

The stamps of his reign are becoming harder to find, and prices continue to rise. When I have difficulty finding anything I need or want, I enjoy searching for non-philatelic items that can add social context to my collection, and where better to start than postcards? Here are just a few of mine.

This postcard shows the Downey portrait of His Majesty, which was used for the much-maligned first Great Britain issue of his reign




These cards were promotional items, although I don't know anything about Dixon & Parker


The Silver Jubilee in 1935 was a bonanza for postcard manufacturers. This card is self-explanatory, but the fabulous detail shows the pageantry and weather on the day


Another card in the same series shows King George and Queen Mary during the Thanksgiving service


This is a very interesting postcard, as it shows the King riding his horse Anzac, which was a gift from the Australian Government. This image was used on the Australian Silver Jubilee issue


And lastly, my personal favourite, which again is self-explanatory



Fortunately, these cards are plentiful, and I've had no difficulty finding them. Deltiologists don't appear to add any additional value to them, which is a very pleasant change.

We don't have to limit ourselves, and our own collections need not have any boundaries. Add some context, and your collection comes to life!



2 comments:

  1. Nice blog!
    I really thought it was a picture of the last Russian Tsar Nicolas II until I read the title of this post..

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  2. Hi Prahanoaki, thanks for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.

    An image search for Czar Nicholas II on Google will show a wonderful pic of the cousins side by side and almost indistinguishable!

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